During a break in the storms, we decided to check out a local Berkeley crag up on Grizzly Peak Blvd:

We were depressed by the condition of the place and the general stupidity that makes people think it's fun to do this:

But look closely, this is why we decided not to climb:

It was a a gentle reminder of how mother nature eventually rights herself after the violations of man.

Well, the protection was a little sketchy anyways:

The weather and the rock was a bit brisk and damp, forecast uncertain in Berkeley:

So we decided to go to Muir Woods for the day and be shutterbugs:

I love the smell of bay trees, and often grab a handful when I'm rapping off some Yosemite obscurity and thrashing around nearby. This was just a beautiful emerald carpet whose wonders changed with the shifting clouds and light:

When I walk around, I enjoy seeing different textures and patterns:

That's one of many things I share with my lady. She taught me what those "white balance" and "ISO" thingies are on my little digital pocket camera:

It was a magical trail, such a short amount of walking to separate us from the madding crowds:

It's hard to be agitated in a place like this. The stately natural rhythm of things finds subconscious resonance with our quiet inner peace:

We make a little game out of trying to capture the beauty we see all around us, and in those expanded moments of perception the little wonders fill our world:

And let ourselves become tangled in patterns:

And we freeze time to savor every delicious drop that rolls off our fingers to dance before our eyes:

And we cherish the life we live together, not having to choose between doing what we love and being with our love:

It was a good day. But we're so lucky, it would have been a good day even if we sat around a paint-covered crag amidst shards of glass. Because we're with each other.

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

i love owls.... ohmy... see, i KNEW this was not just a regular (lovely and exciting though they are) climbing trip... :)

say, my mom and i always loved the woods, and i do think, as a kid, i had a field trip to this woods, as well... (may have even gone as an adult, years and years ago, but not sure?) well, i love it...

my daughter, who is not very friendly with me as a buddy, ect, well:
when she was a baby and i carried her in the woods, she'd SING...
it seemed the one thing that was extra special to her, then, and i hope that somehow, someday, it will be sweet to her again...

:)

*well, back i go to see the rest of the pics unfold...
thanks so very much for sharing these woods...

i just talked to my mom, twice this week (a treat, as she lives far from me) and now this is part of my joy, joined into these last two nights....

god bless...
:)
this is an exxtra happy supertopo night, for me, in deed...
:)

*plus, there was a soft "magical" snowfall, just a bit again, that made you feel the quietness of the greatoutdoors, but in a gentle way, as if to unfold the freshness of new thoughts...

Nice thoughts... sounds like you were in another world, a separate reality frame of mind. Enjoying the photos... especially love the owl and how in one picture it looks like a tree stump with a knotted, angry eye. What great cover, except if someone ever climbs its rock.